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Bemidji State meets Upper Iowa in semifinals

BEMIDJI – The Bemidji State University men’s basketball team will continue its season 2:30 p.m. Friday at Taylor Arena in Rochester against Upper Iowa in the semifinals of the NSIC tournament.

The Beavers, 13-9, advanced to the semifinals by outlasting Winona 74-72 in Saturday’s quarterfinals at Winona.

BSU was seeded third in the NSIC North Division while Winona (17-5) was ranked second in the South.

Upper Iowa (14-8) also pulled off an upset Saturday as it hammered St. Cloud, the top seed of the North, 73-55. St. Cloud ended its season 15-7.

Friday’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal in Rochester pits Minnesota State against Augustana. Minnesota State, the top seed in the South, improved to 18-4 Saturday with its quarterfinal victory over Moorhead, the fourth seed from the North.

Augustana (15-7) is the third seed from the South and ripped Northern State, the second seed from the North, 85-61 Saturday.

If BSU stops Upper Iowa it will face either Minnesota State or Augustana 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9, for the NSIC playoff title. The playoff champion will represent the league in the Central Regional tournament March 16-19 at a site to be determined.

Bemidji State and Winona exchanged the lead six times Saturday and BSU owned the 74-72 advantage with 15 seconds to play. The Beavers preserved their win by forcing the Warriors, to miss a contested shot in the final seconds.

BSU softball

ST. CLOUD – The Bemidji State softball team dropped the final three games of the Kelly Laas Invitational in St. Cloud Saturday.

The day began with an 11-2 loss to Dickinson State and then BSU (2-16) lost 14-0 to St. Cloud and 8-0 to Minot State.

Brittany Lenander doubled home Lyndsey Peterson in the second inning to start the scoring against Dickinson but Dickinson went on to score three runs in the third and four in both the fifth and sixth innings.

Lenander capped the scoring with another RBI double in the sixth, sending Mikayla Osterman home from third.

St. Cloud got off to a quicker start and never looked back, posting five runs in the first inning.

Husky pitcher Kelly Franks stifled the Bemidji State offense, striking out eight hitters without allowing a hit in four innings of work. SCUS’s biggest inning came in the fourth when it pushed eight runs across.

BSU’s bats never got going during the loss to Minot State. MSU scored once in the first and pulled away with six more runs in the second en route to an 8-0 victory. Minot pitcher Mandy Greenberg struck out 10 in five innings, walked one and allowed three BSU hits.

BSU will play 13 games in a six-day span over spring break in Titusville and Clermont, Fla. for spring training before opening conference play with a doubleheader at Crookston. The Beavers open at home Apirl 6 with a pair of games against Wayne State.